some of the first signs of the storm, about 100 miles away right now. pushing towards lake pontchartrain outside of new orleans. 35 miles per hour winds. the storm sitting over 100 miles away. very large feature. measured about 700 mile cloud field. with a storm this large, you'll get large scale storm surge. 12 feet around the southeastern portion of louisiana. we're talking about sustained winds, shy of a category 1 hurricane much the concern more the wet weather and the storm

surge upwards about 20 inches of rainfall as we have flash flood watches and warnings in southern portions of louisiana, alabama and mississippi and in about 24 hours, the storm system nears here, gusty winds upwards of 120 miles per hour around new orleans. working towards baton rouge. wind at 100 miles per hour. landfall in the forecast. that's going to be around 7:00 in the afternoon to 10:00 in the evening in the next 18 or so hours. stay safe out there. with a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, i accept your nomination for the presidency of the united states. >> this is america, a brilliant diversity, spread like stars like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky. >> i call on every american to rise above all the men who divide us. >> they have their chance. they have not led. we will. >> fight with me. fight with me. fight for what's right for our country.

>> the republican national convention is officially open for business and mitt romney arrives here in tampa on tuesday. >> new orleans is hunkering down. a big storm is heading our way. >> the gulf coast on alert for a new hurricane disaster. isaac churns towards the shores of alabama and mississippi. >> we understand how important preparation is. >> threatening the same spots where katrina hit seven years ago. >> we have seen the results of people thinking they somehow are stronger than storms. >> in florida. >> republican national convention in session and called to order. >> republicans officially open their convention, but delay the speakers and festivities for 24 hours.

>> they stand in recess. >> even though tampa dodged the worst of the storm. >> they made the same division i made and the most important thing we can do is keep everyone safe. >> tonight, cnn is live in new orleans and at the convention site. in tampa. we are tracking the power and preparations in the danger zone and any political fallout. >> our thoughts are with the people in the storm's path and hope they're spared of major destruction. >> will this storm overshadow mitt romney's crowning moment now that voters are shifting focus to isaac? >> a great convention ahead. plus, the private side of romney as he prepares for the most important speech of his life his sons open up about their dad. now our republican convention coverage, the players, the issues, the stakes and the storm. the road to the white house leads through tampa right now.

>> welcome to tampa, florida, the site of the republican national convention. about 16 hours from now, the thousands of delegates will reconvene to make the process of making mitt romney president of the united states. inside the hall, final preparations are now being made for the first of three star-studded nights. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer here in tampa with cnn's erin burnett. we have a lot of politics to cover. >> we sure do. the convention is formally convened today, but for a few minutes. party chairman reince priebus was in charge of the gavel. you saw him a moment ago bringing it to order and the republicans started a second. national debt clock. they have one up there. the $16 trillion debt and

another one to count how much is racked up in the gop convention. the real action will start tomorrow. chris christie is going to be delivering the key note address and all eyes will be on that. whether it is bombastic or calm or a combination of the two. another highlight will be the speech by his wife, ann. while all that is going on, new orleans could be facing the wrath of hurricane isaac at that moment. anderson cooper is there back in 2005. >> he's joining us with the latest waiting for isaac along the gulf coast. anderson? >> wolf and erin, i am at the 17th street canal. the water is held back by one of the levees that broke and failed when hurricane katrina hit the city, since then, $10 billion has been spent on repairing and strengthening new orleans levees. you can see when the floodgates that are behind me and been rebimt. now seven years after, they are

going to be tested possibly. isaac is getting stronger. forecasters say it will be a hurricane and very soon. new orleans could be feeling tropical storm force winds tonight. we're starting to feel the wind blowing more than it was two hours ago. the storm is moving slowly and not expected to make landfall until wednesday. mandatory evacuations are ordered for mississippi and louisiana along low-lying areas and thousands are heading inland. a lot more will be hunkering down for the storm. la governor, bobby jindal will be on the republican party's rising stars. he is staying home and not going to the convention. watch. >> i will not be speaking or attending the convention in florida. party conventions are interesting, but no time for politics here in louisiana along our coast. >> our meteorologist and severe weather expert chad myers is joining us in the severe weather center.

what is the latest on where isaac iseading. give us the most up to date info. >> right to the west of new orleans and west of new orleans proper. about three hours ago, it tried to get an eye and an eyewall. this will not have rapid intensification. without an eye. it failed to make that eye. great news. right now it would be a significantly bigger storm with an eye already. because it failed once, it's trying again right now trying to make another eye. 70 miles per hour, it never did make it to the hurricane. it did try during that first eyewall. right there, the storm is moving up the mississippi river. a category 2. about a 100 mile per hour storm, not that far from new orleans. about 100 miles in error, left and right of new orleans by 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. this is about 30 hours away right now. anderson? >> also stay with us because i want to bring in rob marciano.

new orleans mayor is not ordering an evacuation of the city of new orleans, which is below sea level protected by a network of levees. meteorologist rob marciano got a bird's eye view of the levees today. a different system than seven years ago. >> incredible. when you see it up close, it's awe-inspiring, but to get a look at the project is impressive. we want to share that with the viewers. take a look at what this stuff looked like from high above. >> shortly after taking off is the biggest pumping station in the world part of a $14 billion plan to protect new orleans from hurricane floodwaters. gates to keep the seawater from coming in and pumps to let the rain water out. this is another 73 pumping stations across five parishes and some are able to move water at 150,000 gallons per second.

the flood gates, you can really see the enormity of this project. they go on for miles and miles. >> if this storm strengthens to a category two storm tonight, will you sleep well? >> this is the best system that the greater new orleans area has seen. >> dug deeper, built stronger and standing higher than seven years ago, there 133 miles of levee wall around the city. new orleans's most exposed is here on the eastern side. this sea wall nearly two miles long, according to the army core -- army corps of engineers, this barrier to the sea is ready. the seawall is not any seawall. >> sitting in the rescue aircraft reminds me that if the walls don't hold like in katrina, the men providing this may be the same guys that are saving lives down below.

sfliemt we. we train every day. hopefully we won't have to use those skills. in this case, we're ready. we have crews ready and available to respond. >> during the catastrophe, after hurricane katrina 2005, he was credited with restoring order here and it was a welcome sight when he arrived here. he is retired here. he joins us. what concerns you most over the next 24 hours? >> people in flood-prone areas that will try to stick it out. stay home. that's what concerns me the most. parts of the gulf coast will flood. all outside of the levee system. look, the high tide is already coming on the wall >> where we are which is 17th street canal is outside the protection. the leaf reese are protecting that side. >> the lower parishes have a significant amount of parishes and towns that are ready.

>> is new orleans ready? >> i think they are ready from the government perspective. i ho the people are ready, mentally prepared and have done the preparation we have been preaching about at home and prepared to live three or four days without electricity. the storm even though it's a category one has t capacity to turn the lights out. be prepared. to spend some time without electricity. >> the leadership at the state and local level is a different story. than seven years. >> different story. infrastructure is different. the levee system is better. on any given day, mother nature can beat us, you know that. >> it is a slow-moving storm, even though people may say this is a low cat 2, we are looking at a lot of storm surge and rain over a 24-hour period. >> if you were in this area, new orleans, st. bernard parish, you cannot live a few days without electricity meaning air conditioning and all the amenities that go with it, you need to leave.

i know the politicians have tried to paint this, but if you have problems, you need to leave. if you have a medical condition or -- if you know anyone with special needs, you can't live without the air conditioning, they need to leave and leave now. >> we're going to continue to check in with you throughout it storm. appreciate you being with us, general. thank you so much. a lot to cover. we'll be with you throughout this hour. >> all five of ann and mitt romney's grown kids stopped by the cnn grill to talk too piers morgan. you'll hear part of that conversation in a moment. piers tried to get them to reveal a few family secret. >> i want to find a chink in the armor. >> about my dad? >> yeah. snoeb wants mr. perfect. >> he does, but i won't tell them to you.

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ooo no. the hotel lost our reservation. nonsense! you book at travelocity, your reservation's guaranteed. well, i did not book with travelocity, okay?!? [ female announcer ] get the travelocity guarantee any way you book, including our new app. you'll never roam alone. >> i'm here with piers morgan and he had a chance to sit down with all five romney sons. it was exciting. >> it was a beautiful sight. >> to put it into perspective, this is the vip box in the gop convention. when ann romney speaks, the five boys will be sitting here cheering on mom and dad. it's a fascinating interview. >> a great interview. >> it was full of stuff about

their love and faith and dad's tax plans. it was all there. the most important challenge is -- o you would understand this -- how the hell do you remember five brothers's names when they all look pretty much alike. that was the first test. watch what follows. >> ben, craig, tag, josh, matt. >> very good. >> can you do it without the earpiece? >> no, no, no one was giving me information. i'm just trying to remember. we are at the crucial stage of the campaign. your father is within breathing distance of the white house. big pressure. how are you coping as his sons with the negativity that begins to pour down on your dad's head? what do you think? >> you don't worry about the negativity. it comes with the territory. you knew about it before we came in. you try to get your own message out there. a positive vision for what my dad believes america can get back to.

trying to get the 23 million people out of work back to work. he and paul ryan will breakthrough the stuff out there and deliver that message to the american people. >> josh, when you see an attack ad like the obama super pac and accusing your father for being responsible for a woman's death. how do you feel? be honest. >> some of these go too far clearly. the ones that are untruthful are hard to watch, we don't like it, it's not fun, but at the end of the day when people who know my dad best, the people who spent their lives with him and people who support him and the ones know him the least have the worst things to say. at the end of the day, my brothers and i, my mom, we know who he is and when r what kind of a person he s. we let it roll off our backs. some of the ads take it too far. >> your dad seems a very laid back individual. what is the biggest anger moment you have seen throughout this whole campaign.

from him. >> he seems laid back? is that what you said? he can be very intense. he can also be laid back when the time is right. we were talking earlier and he was a cse ceo and a governor. that's really part of who he is, but also a grandfather. he is a terrific grandfather. we have seen him intense as well on the campaign trail. you encounter a lot of scenarios and hecklers and different things. i think he handled it all very well. when he needs to be intense, we have all seen it. >> what is the biggest misconception about your father? what's something you keep reading and you say you know what, he's not like that. >> i will not get into the media misconceptions about my father, but what i think my father is and he's a great dad and grandfather.

he's a phenomenal leader and he's a turn around guy who has come into situations and turned around difficult situations. he is caring and doing it in the for the right reasons. >> you make him out to be a saint. when you are criticizing him, where would you be critical? come on. >> he cares too much. >> he can't be perfect. >> his hair is too perfect. >> he caretoo much? >> exactly. >> you are going to make me cry. seriously. you are the youngest. the youngest always tells the truth. i have three sons and my youngest, if he was doing an interview, he would give it to me straight. i want to find a chink in the armor. >> about my dad? >> yeah. nobody wants mr. perfect. >> he does have chinks in the armor, but i won't tell them to you. he is a role model to all of us i think and we have tremendous respect for him and it's a great privilege to travel the country on his behalf and hear about the issues important to them.

>> tag, let's turn to the documentary that lori borger did last night. and a fascinating series of interviews. your mother got emotional and your father got emotional too. two pivotal moments. one when he nearly died in a car crash and secondly when your mother first became ill with m.s. were you surprised by the fact that they were so emotional? on camera? >> no. that's my mom and dad that we know. my dad is a very emotional guy and cares deeply for his family and for those that he loves around him. the people that he comes across in his life. he cares very deeply. when he is in front of the camera and on the stage, he has his guard up because when he doesn't, he gets assailed for saying the wrong phrase. >> he ripped his jacket off. >> all the time. >> this is what i'm really like.

>> all the time. people who see him at work as governor running the olympics tell you a man that cares deeply and is passionate and runs through brick walls. he's flawed. all of us are flawed. >> what are the flaws? >> the democrats are the people saying we're going to try the other side of the story. >> let me give you allegations. one is that he is boring. >> i wouldn't say that. he is a pretty interesting guy. i can't imagine anyone i would rather spend an hour talking to about you name the subject. he's a lot of fun to listen to and talk to and argue with. >> josh, the other allegation is he's a flipflopper. doesn't stand for anything. one minute he believe this is and is he a man of principal? >> he is. if you look at his career and what he's done in the public sector, he has the same goals and he loves to help people. if you look at what he did as governor, he was doing things to help people.

he is running for president. this is not an ego thing. he doesn't need this that makes him feel better about who he is, but he recognizes he's in a position to help people and turn the economy around. the static, consistent thing about my dad in my opinion is his principles and what he stands for and what he wants to do for the country. >> when you take an issue like abortion when he goes from one extreme to the opposite, people say that's where he is not principled. what would you say? >> there is evolutions everybody has in life. i don't think you can find a person who has not changed positions on something in a lifetime circumstances change. someone was able to do that and open to learning new things. i think someone has an open mind and willing to look at things is a good thing in a leader. >> lots of issues around the republican race. especially the nominee race. the conservative social issues. came to the floor. you guys are all mormons

obviously and we know about that faith. when you meet young people, they say the problem with the republican party today is they don't like the apparent intolerance over gay rights. over abortion and these kinds of issues. you are young guys. how do you feel? are you completely signed up to these positions that the party takes? >> we are not running for president for our position doesn't matter, but our dad is. the one thing i can tell you about him and us, our faith teaches us to love everybody regardless of their situation and orientation is. that's first and foremost. you love everybody. as far as policies are concerned, we all believe that family is important. my dad does as well. that is worth fighting for. how that shakes out, that's up to him to decide. we all believe the same things. >> what i'm getting at is some of the language used by

them, some of the language can be very bordering on bigoted. as the younger guys, it is generational. do you wish sometimes the language used by the republicans was lessee motive. ? >> my dad is very compassionate in his views and he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but he is also very understanding that people have other opinions. i think he has been respectful of both sides. in that argument. this race i don't think is going to come down to social issues. we have 23 million americans out of work and economy that is stalling. weave added $5 trillion in debt. in the last 3.5 years. or $7 trillion. this is going to come down to who can turn the economy around and people trust my dad on that a lot more than barack obama. >> the mormon faith, we touched on that and there was a documentary last night with your parents expanding more on this.

we heard the negatives about mormonism. what are the positives. what are the great assets of being a mormon? that you would advocate? >> in a few brief sentences, i guess, for me it's great values and how to live my life. how to treat other people. just like a lot of faiths that are out there, there a lot of great thing about mormonism. how to live your life and treat your neighbor and love others. >> you don't drink or smoke or take drugs or womanize. >> these are all things -- >> you are strapping young guys. don't you ever wish you were not mormons? >> these are blessings in my life. living by that sort of code has been wonderful for me. >> do you think it's really important? craig, do you think it's a great asset? >> i hope so. it's something that is important to us and the values we have been taught from a young age. they're core principles of our faith and obviously, we're very

proud of that. >> let's take a short break. we'll stay with you guys. so many women are tuning in to watch these six handsome guys, we will come back after the break. we'll see you in a moment. ordinary rubs don't always work on my arthritis.

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i'm live at the cnn grill with the romney five, as i've dubbed them. josh, let's talk taxation. i know i have been chomping at the bit to get to this. a lot of people say come on, the old man should release more of his tax records. just clear up once and for all how much tax he's paid. >> he's paid his taxes and this is a gimmick by the obama campaign to take the message off the economy and on his taxes. at this end of the day, we have $16 trillion of debt and 23 million americans out of work and obama talks about my dad's personal taxes. these are not things that matter.

in the grand scheme of things. they want to use it as a gimmick to hit him over the next few weeks to focus on my dad's taxes. really the big issue is the economy. it's faltering and sputtering along. obama had 3 1/2 years and he hasn't done it. that's the real issue. >> matt, how hard is it to be the son of a man that think you are very, very rich people. how hard is that when you get people attacking him for his success and wealth. >> as tagg pointed out, this is a game of politics. we are prepared. it's tough to see. we know that he did a great job of making that money. he worked very, very hard to do that. we don't take anything for granted. we know a lot of people are struggling. >> i think that's one of the ironies. president obama is trying to make it a disqualifier to be successful. if you had a successful career, in the private sector, that

somehow disqualifies you from being able to be a good president. obviously, president obama has not had that opportunity, but wants to point to my dad as being disqualifying. >> knowing your father as you do, can you guarantee to the american people he has nothing to hide? >> yeah. i know my dad and what he stands for and his value system. he is the most honest guy i know and complete integrity. he's got nothing to hide and he wants to focus on the economy. let's not distract ourselves with the peripheral issues. let's talk about the economy. let's get down to the issues. you look at the pick and this is a guy who spend his time tackling the issues. whether or not you agree or disagree, he is trying to make a difference and my dad is doing the same thing. he wants to make a difference and talk about the issues. >> tagg, were you concerned when your dad picked a running mate who looks like one of his sons? >> he picked the person he

thought would do the best job to tackle the debt and get the economy booming. and to pick it up eight years when he is out of office. he didn't pick paul ryan for political reasons, but he was the right person to pick. he will pay less attention -- >> what a bold move. people were taken aback. it was quite audacious. >> you look at what he will do in office. he won't worry about the day to day back and forth and what is that person going to think? he does what he thinks will be the right thing to do. and bring the american people around and have them get behind him and lead forward and fix the problems we are facing right now. >> craig, your dad has a huge speech coming up on thursday. what do you want him to say? you talk privately and say dad, come out and do this. >> tell how great his sons are. i think it's a great opportunity

for people to get to see him in a very unfellterred way. to get to hear his story and vision for the country. i think in large parts he has been defined by the opposition up until this point. it's a chance for the voters. to get to know what kind of candidate he is. >> we get e-mailed speeches from friends. this is what he needs to say. they've wrat en in all out. >> i have a lot of them. >> do you you want him to be passionate and emotional? >> have you listened to the last -- since he picked paul ryan, especially. you've seen a lot of passion and emotion. >> the documentary again, great insight into -- he's got it there. you can tell. he has been a bit like a caged lion. i wonder if you say dad, this is the moment. this speech could win you the election. do you say that to him? >> i haven't said that to him. i trust him. i really do. he's very, very capable. if i had half the intelligence he had, i trust him. he knows what he's doing and he

is capable and will give a great speech. i think there will be a lot of big ideas and how to fix the economy. >> you are a doctor and your mother is making a huge speech tomorrow. she has been through an ordeal with her health and you would never imagine for a moment and brought you five guys up and she has been attacked for it. she had all this backup and that wasn't true, was it? >> she has been really a role model for me as well. she faced a difficult situation and attacked head on. she said okay, what are we going to do and how am i going to get better? she and my dad worked together. we can overcome this. she worked really hard to get to where she is right now. i just have nothing but pride and admiration for that. >> i want to end with all of you giving me one word which is a great

description for your dad, you can't use the same word. >> frugal. >> qualified. >> generous. >> father. >> i said integrity on an earlier episode but i will say loving as well. >> father first. >> father can be the one thing. that's grate vote winner. it's a pleasure to meet you. great to see you. craig, ben. i got you all right again. that was a fascinating interview with the romney sons. i will turn back to wolf and erin. >> it's amazing. whatever you want to see about mitt and ann romney, they have a great family. those five boys are impressive. >> really, really impressive. i like a lot of things, but the words to describe, i like how the first word was frugal. it's one of the things we've heard. positive stories -- >> funny they didn't say was cheap. >> the flip side is cheap.

>> in the story they did with gloria boringer, he buys kirkland shirts. at costco. three for $15. >> kirk land is a good shirt. >> whatever it costs. >> we have the latest on tropical storm isaac as we track it. >> we're only moments away from an updated projection on the powerful storm's path. stay with us. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan.

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>> i'm anderson cooper in new orleans. here's the latest on isaac. forecasters expect it to be a hurricane soon and could have 100 mile an hour sustained winds. by the time it makes landfall on wednesday. the storm is moving about ten miles an hour right now and forecasters expect a slight decrease in the forward speed. the slow movement could produce long lasting rainfall. southern mississippi and alabama as well as the extreme western florida panhandle.

forecasters are warning the combination of a storm surge and high tide will cause the dry areas to be flooded and the major threat from isaac will not be wind, but flooding. that's the most important thing to remember. let's check in with severe weather expert chad myers who has the latest on the storm track. chad? >> you about summed it up. not much more to say than that. she had rainfall and some spots 13 inches of rain. they are continuing to try to increase and find a new center. a new eye and 70 miles per hour is the latest update we heard. forecasts going near new orleans, 100 miles per hour as you said and continuing to move up into louisiana and it's going to stop. 15, 20 inches of rainfall. i know we have levees and barriers to keep the kae wasea

new orleans. we have rain coming in and rain coming out and wind speeds will be coming up. we'll have updates as the 11 o'clock advisory comes in on my tweet deck. anderson? >> chad if it's moving at 10 miles an hour and slower than that maybe, how long will folks feel the major effects of this storm? >> we could have 45 to 55 mile per hour winds for no less than 48 hours. in new orleans. that will shut down airports and put power lines down and people without power, sometimes they will have a hard time keeping up. with the rainfall rates that we're going to have with this storm. >> we will continue to check in with you. chad, appreciate that. let's go back to wolf in tampa. wolf? >> thanks very much. i'm worried about the elderly people. and the power shortages and people in hospitals. if they lose power, that could be a big deal. >> talking about what happened

last time with katrina and the elderly in new orleans. tomorrow on tuesday, mitt romney will be arriving and his five sons are here and his wife will be here. the speeches are getting under way. in the afternoon. there will be a lot of them. it's a day short. they start early. >> a roll call as well. that includes the wife of the nominee. she is speaking tomorrow night tuesday night. and candy crowley near the podium. candy, what can you tell us about tomorrow? >> two big speakers tomorrow night. ann romney will kick off the high-profile speeches to try to reframe, if you will, the mitt romney that voters have gotten to know through various ads and they have seen them on the air as well as mistakes that romney made along the way. she will play what has become a traditional wife role or spouse role not in the sense of sitting by and not saying anything, but in the sense that wives can not only humanize their husbands,

but wives are something that a lot of folks can relate to. ann romney is a likeable person and comes across that way and plays the camera well and the fact is that they are banking on people warming up to ann romney. you do that, well gee, she's married to him, therefore, he must be a good guy kind of connection. a really interesting kind of contrast in that 10:00 p.m. eastern hour. you will also hear from the new jersey governor chris christie who is delivering the key note speech. as you know this is a guy who doesn't pull many punches. it will be an exciting hour tomorrow night. at 10:00 p.m. eastern. wolf? >> i'm looking forward to it. she does have an inspiring story. i'm sure it's going to be a terrific speech. thanks, candy. our her floor correspondents have been gathering information about the action tomorrow. they will be on duty for us.

let's begin with details on the key note speaker. what do you hear? >> it's interesting. candy was talking about the fact that new jersey governor chris christie doesn't pull any punches. that is true we know in public. but our understanding from sources who know pretty well that he is the same in private with governor mitt romney. the two of them met officially when the governor came to new jersey to ask for his endorsement which he got. they became close enough that governor christie can call mitt romney on the phone, e-mail him and say to him in private the things that -- our understanding that a lot of people say to mitt romney. that is something that has established a bond between the two. unclear if that's one of the reasons. why he's picked to give the keynote address. the other is likely as candy was talking about that he doesn't

pull any punches. our understanding is that he is going to talk positively about the republican party and his vision for it. i want to push it over to jim accost a who will talk about what he is hearing from romney aides and what they think will happen tomorrow. >> that's right. one thing we should point out, they put out new guidance. that is that they will be having another briefing tomorrow morning. republican officials have been saying that they will be doing this quite often. frankly they have to stay on top of the storm and they have to change in light of what happens with that storm. they want to avoid anything that will step on the big priority in tampa and that is telling the story of mitt romney. i had a chance to catch up with a long time friend and adviser for mitt romney and why this is.

why don't the american people already know who he is? he drew a parallel that had to do with a sales job of his own. back in 1980. ronald reagan. here's what he had to say. >> it's kind of like 1980. when people were tired of carter and his policies. still liked him, but there is this old guy, ronald reagan from california and weren't sure about him. they took the convention and i -- that's what ronald reagan is like. i think it's the exact same situation. >> and earlier today, i had a chance to catch up with the gop chairman. reince priebus. we talked about this earlier today, wolf. he said here in tampa, they have be nimble. i heard that reiyce has earned the name, reins be nimble. we're going to take a quick break.

some of the louisiana delegates are suffering a bout of deja vu like in 2008. they're at a party convention. as a big storm is headed towards their home state and we'll hear from some of them. that's coming up next. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪

. dana ba is with two louisiana delegates, they are talking to two members of the delegation about isaac. let's send it down now to you, d dana. >> they were kind enough to come here to talk about what's going through your head and at the delegation. this is lynn skid more. this has to be tough. >> we did and we are hoping that the city fares better than it did during katrina. kralt katrina devastated the city of new orleans. from the last i heard before i arrived, there will be 20 to 30 hours of rain in the city of new orleans. it's a serious situation for us. >> this is michael bayham. we talked earlier. you said the show must go on here.

>> they have a job to do. the republicans have to get their message out. we have an election coming up in november. it's an important decision on where americans will go and they have an opportunity to make their case to the american public. >> for both of you, it must be incredibly difficult. it's r it's fair to say you got emotional. >> i did. >> sitting here doing what you believe is your important business, knowing what's happening back home. >> if we could do something about it, it would be great. there is nothing to do about it. the hurricane will go in where it chooses. it's just hideous that it comes on the anniversary of katrina with new orleans. it just was seven years ago with katrina. >> neither of you considered going back home. >> we would have had to evacuate it anyway. we are hoping that the levees are strong and say they are confident. in the levees.

hopefully, these levees will hold. >> what about the tone and tenor. hopefully everything will be okay. do you hope that the organizers here, your fellow republicans tone things down? >> no and i think we are here to do the business of his country and to elect mitt romney. new orleans is part of this great country, but it's a part of it. everyone is very concerned but we need to go on with our convention. >> thank you very much for coming in. >> everybody wishes you all the best with your family back home. >> we thank you. >> back to you, wolf. >> let's talk about isaac and the politics of the storm. we have an excellent panel. gloria, let me start with you. this is an awkward moment for this convention. if it's likely to be a hurricane tomorrow night at this time and they're still speaking, that raises a lot of problems.

>> there is a lot of grousing that there isn't a convention today. but it's always -- what the delegates feel like they need is say good speech from mitt romney and ann romney and chris christie and if they need to truncate events, they will do it. do they have that in them to deliver a powerful speech that can give them the boost out of this? >> i think so. a lot of his speeches are falling short and president obama is obviously a better speaker, but he showed a lot of growth in the primaries. the big issue is there is an -- a tonal issue. if this storm is approaching in a serious way and there is a sense they will be under siege. it's hard to see how you go on the attack. >> how do they do that? how awkward would that be? >> i'm not sure it's that

awkward. a lot of people watching and more than we would otherwise. republicans will benefit from that. this is not something to serve republicans. this is for the people of the united states. we're picking a nominee. this is a responsibility that republicans have this week and democrats have next week to pick a nominee and introduce him to the american people. this is not a self-serving thing that republicans do for their own benefit. just like next week isn't for the democrats. they need to meet that responsibility. they can be respectful. >> you're for getting something. >> you have republican governors florida, alabama, mississippi, louisiana. chris christie, governor of new jersey. you have an opportunity for leadership. remember 2008. nor john mccain suspends his campaign. then senator obama does not. what did senator obama say then. when you become president, guess what, things change. things happen. i think how they handle it is

saying this is simply a microcosm of what will happen when you become president. you have to handle the natural disasters, handle things changing and you have to change course. >> but how do you get the full benefit of a convention as a result of what's happening with isaac? >> we don't know the answer, but the likely guess is no. to alex's point, more people will be watching in the daytime and pieces of that. documentary. more of the daytime proceedings. people will tune in to watch the storm developments. however, the biggest frustration is they don't know if they have to tell governor christie, you can't say this when they go through his speech tomorrow night. you can't do a full frontal assault on o the president. they don't know if they have to -- what do they do with wednesday and thursday if there is a crisis. they havto be prepared to be nimble which is one of the reasons governor romney is coming in tomorrow. he will try to get more advantage on the front end.

>> we are getting a new update in. let's take a break and go and update you on what's going on after this.

>> we have a new advisory with tropical storm isaac and checked in with cnn's chad myers. chad, what have we learned? >> still reading it, anderson. not much has changed. hurricane hunters have not found wind increase. it is significant and the pressure getting lower. that means the storm is technically getting stronger. katd gory 1 is the forecast. not a category 2 anymore. a 90 mile per hour storm as it rolls up the mississippi river close to new orleans. notice the cone is getting smaller. as the storm gets closer, the storm's error is smaller. so the cone and the error difference is getting smaller as well. this will be a rainmaker. this will be a flood maker. i have maps earlier that i showed you. we could get 20 inches of rainfall from the storm in new orleans proper. right in the city. because new orleans is lower